Almost everyone is well aware of the fact that liquid food can be supplied to a child from a bottle provided with a nipple, with such nipple often being held in place by virtue of mounting the base portions of the nipple in a closure ring that is equipped with internal screw threads. Used with this nipple and closure ring is a bottle having external threads extending around the open end, so that by tightly screwing the closure ring onto the top of the bottle, a liquid tight arrangement is brought about. After the milk, orange juice or other liquid food has been fully administered, the closure ring is unscrewed from the top of the bottle so that a thorough washing of all of these components can be readily brought about.
Typically the mother or other care giver introduces the infant to spoon feeding in the age range of six to eight months, but sometimes the transition from nipple to spoon can be difficult for the infant.
My issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,348 provided a means whereby a transitional phase is set up during the baby's development between the milk-nipple stage and the food-spoon stage. The administering of certain foods, such as semi-solid foods, in the early period of development becomes easier because of the baby's familiarity with a nipple. This makes subsequent spoon training faster and easier, because when a spoon is first presented with food in it, the baby will already be familiar with the food. Consequently, crossing the “spoon barrier” becomes a simple matter.
Another important consideration is the fact that when an infant is starting to take semi-solid and solid food, the possibility of choking can be a constant threat. Therefore, when a child is being given a piece of a hot dog, for example, the mother or other care giver should cut the hot dog longitudinally before cutting it into pieces. This is advisable because a generally cylindrically shaped piece of hot dog is of a configuration that could easily form a blockage in the throat of a child or impaired adult, and cause him or her to choke to death if help is not quickly forthcoming.
I am aware that there are many items on the market, such as baby crackers, baby cookies, baby toast and the like that are intended as snacks for an infant to chew on while teething or while the infant has only a few teeth. Even though such items are ostensibly for infants, it is nevertheless quite possible for an infant or impaired adult to break off a piece of such an item and choke on it.
In accordance with the teachings of my above-mentioned patent, I have provided an elongate food-receiving container of fine mesh construction such that relatively soft, solid or semi-solid food items placed in the elongate container can be dissolved by the person's saliva and thereafter ingested, this being accomplished without any possibility of the person choking upon such food or any part of the feeder device.
Although my earlier issued patent has been quite successfully marketed as a “Baby Safe Feeder,” it is entirely possible that after a mother or other care giver has washed out the handle member, the closure ring and the food dispensing container of fine mesh construction and left these members to dry in a location reachable by a child, the child could possibly grasp the mesh container, place it in his or her mouth, and then choke on it.
It was in an effort to supplement and improve upon the safety of my previously patented device that the invention represented by my recently-allowed patent application taught the use of a relatively large ring secured to the open end of the mesh container, making the container virtually impossible for a child to swallow.
More recently, I have developed an improved procedure for securing the mesh food-receiving container in contact with the handle member in such a manner as to prolong the useful life of the mesh container.